Gatemen win second straight

FALMOUTH — Beamer Weems believes that bunting has become something of a lost art.

Ed Collins

FALMOUTH — Beamer Weems believes that bunting has become something of a lost art.

About two years ago, he started working hard on adding bunting to his offensive repertoire and it paid off Friday night for the Wareham Gatemen.

A shortstop from Baylor, Weems raised his batting average to .366 with a pair of hits and also reached on a walk for the Gatemen (3-10), who notched a 5-4 Cape Cod Baseball League victory over Falmouth Friday night to post their first two-game winning streak of the season.

The Gatemen snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over Hyannis on Thursday.

Weems got Wareham going with a two-out bunt single in the top of the fifth inning and came around to score on an infield error to help the team cut its deficit to 3-2. He also ripped a one-out double in the seventh to fuel a three-run rally that gave the Gatemen a 5-3 advantage.

"It's all about getting on base and a bunt can be a powerful weapon if you have some speed," said Weems. "I was just looking to get something going with two outs and it worked out great."

Wareham broke the game open in the seventh, which was also powered by a double steal, a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Ike Davis, and an RBI double by Dustin Dickerson that made it a 5-3 game.

Falmouth pulled to within 5-4 on a RBI double by Jeremy Farrell in the bottom of the seventh and went on to loade the bases on back-to-back walks, but reliever Jeff Dietz worked out of the jam when Conor Gillaspie bounced into a fielder's choice groundout.

The Commodores (4-9) reloaded the bases with one out in eighth against Dietz, who gave way to Chris Hicks.

Hicks fanned David Adams and ended the threat on a comebacker by Farrell that had the Gatemen breathing a sigh of relief.

"Things got a little shaky for us in the seventh and the eight, but we got the job done," said Wareham manager Cooper Farris. "Hicks came in and shut the door and that gave us a big lift."

Hicks, a right-hander from Georgia Tech who picked up his third save of the season, got two quick outs in the ninth before issuing a walk to Gillaspie, but he came back strong to fan Aja Barto on a called third strike that brought the game to a dramatic end.

"That was a big win because the last thing you want to do after snapping a losing streak is lose again. It was important for us to win this game and keep our momentum going," said Weems. "Things jelled for us on the mound and at the plate and that was good to see. Hopefully this will keep us headed in the right direction."

Starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel, a left-hander from Arkansas, pitched five strong innings and kept the team within striking distance.

"We were moving people all over the place, but everybody did their jobs," said Farris. "It was a good team. My guys have been playing hard all season. They want to win and we're all hoping that we've turned the corner and will keep on winning."

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